Glorious Empire (Overlord II)
The Glorious Empire was the ruling body that controlled a large expanse of the World. The people of the Empire were very anti-magic and they either enslaved magician creatures or drained the magical energy from them. They also developed weapons and war machines, such as catapults, ballistas and assault towers and had a massive and well-equipped army. They also seemed to kill, torture or enslave anyone who did not agree with them. History The still-expanding Empire is first encountered during the Overlad Prologue. They besiege Nordberg Town and demand they hand over any magic users to be "cleansed". In response, the Nordbergians toss out the Overlad, who proceeds to escape with the aid of the minions and a Yeti. During the time the Overlad is being raised to become the Fourth Overlord, the Glorious Empire expands and takes over much of the World. Their ruler is Emperor Solarius, a ruthless and deluded tyrant, who wishes to eradicate all of the world's magic and collect it in the Magic Containment Room in the Imperial Palace. Empire Citizens are the people who live in Empire City and are ruled by Emperor Solarius. They are unable to fight back and can easily be killed if the player wants to have a higher corruption level. They all drop lifeforce. They wear ruby-encrusted collars and gem-encrusted bracelets, also golden tiaras, golden collars and golden beads. As the name implies, Empire Slaves are the poor, downtrodden masses of the Glorious Empire. They wear worn-down brown clothing, as opposed to the pristine white togas of the Citizens. With nowhere else to go, the slaves have made their home in the Empire Sewers, where they are constantly menaced by giant frogs. Slaves are friendly to the Overlord, with the exception of the ones in the Empire Arena, and the slaves in the Empire Sewers. They are also seen in the Empire Heartland, carrying an Empire Citizen. They are also thin, hunched and skinny, with the exception of the fat slaves, which are very-obese to be used in the Empire Arena. Leaders Florian Greenheart is an elven male, a soldier of the Sanctuary, and he is secretly Emperor Solarius. He lives in the Imperial Palace. According to his own words, Florian was born without any magical powers, which caused the other elves to tease him. After the fall of the Third Overlord, he attempted to steal the Tower Heart,thinking it would unlock his magical potential. Unfortunately for him, the Tower Heart instead became unstable and exploded, causing the obliteration of the old lands, the Great Cataclysm, followed by a magical plague which caused mutations in what would become The Wastelands. In the aftermath of these disasters, humans began to fear magic and in this Florian saw his chance to rise to power. He assumed the identity of Emperor Solarius and cleansed all the creatures of their magical powers for revenge, fooling the people into thinking he is trying to eradicate magic, while secretly collecting every bit of magical energy in a containment vat in the Imperial Palace. Almost no one knew that Solarius was, in fact, an elf, because he wore a golden mask that hid his face and never spoke, letting his official spokesperson Marius do the talking for him. He positioned his most trusted followers in control of various towns in the land, placing governor Borius in control of the small town of Nordberg and the Everlight Governess in charge of Everlight. He had hoped to absorb the energy of the blue hive in the Magic Containment Room, but the Overlord intervened, and broke free of the Empire Arena and took his Blues back. Later he reveals himself to the Fourth Overlord and when all the energy from the Tower Heart used to break Empire City's anti-magic shield is absorbed into the vat he jumps into it hoping to become a god. Instead he is trapped in a hideous creature called the Devourer, and destroys a large portion of the Empire City. The Devourer also eats Marius when he asks for his reward and later Florian chokes up his monocle. Florian still believes he is becoming a god until the moment the Overlord brings his deluded reign to a painful end. He is seen little as Solarius throughout the course of the game, and is first mentioned as Solarius by Marius, when he says that Emperor Solarius will not be happy about this. He is next seen upon the Overlord's entry to the Magic Containment Room in the Imperial Palace, where he is having his 'daily reinvigoration' by draining magic from the vat in the centre of the room. He is next seen in the imperial lodge above the Empire Arena with Marius, and is later forced to flee because the pillars holding up his lodge are destroyed by the Overlord and his minions. The next time he is seen is when the Overlord has entered Empire City and is seen 'cowering' behind his own Anti-Magic Shield that protects his palace. Rose also mentions him, saying that he was meant to bring order to the land, but his power has peaked and he has become unstable. In the imperial palace, the Overlord encounters him when he says he has escaped the arena dungeons with the aid of a Fairy, and next when he reveals himself to the Overlord and jumps into the containment vat to become a god. The final time he is seen is when he declares that his ascension has come, and he and the Devourer explode into a pile of blue slime. The Devourer is a creature created of the pure magic that Florian Greenheart had been gathering. Florian had been aspiring to become a god, but after he merged with the magic essence he become a gigantic slug-like abomination, which devoured all things in its path. Its trail leaves behind blue magic ooze, identical to the ooze in the Wastelands, which is able to mutate living beings and minions into insane zombie-like creatures. Its primary attack is to strike out with its sucker, consuming any civilian or minion that gets in the way. When harmed the Devourer also tends to charge its target to knock them off their feet, but aside from the magical ooze it occasionally shakes off, it remains unusually docile. The Devourer also has the ability to spawn any foe it has eaten, which includes unicorns, Empire fire archers, Empire soldiers, fire gnomes, and giant toads. Its only weaknesses are the globules on its back, which can be targeted individually but are unreachable for any close-range melee attacks. Greens and Reds are the only minions that can damage the Devourer due to the height of the globules on its back, but it has been speculated that the Overlord may harm it by attacking the globules with his Evil Presence spell. Since Florian created the Devourer, it can only be killed by destroying Florian when the Devouter spits him out. The Devourer was stopped by the Fourth Overlord shortly after it was created. Notable individuals it has consumed include Marius and Florian. Marius is Emperor Solarius' right-hand man and second in command of the Glorious Empire. Overlord II As Emperor Solarius's right-hand man, official spokesperson and also one of the key figures in the "magical cleansing" program, he had the ability to teleport due to using magical energies obtained from the program. Apart from being in league with Solarius, he is the only person, other than Rose, who knows that Solarius is actually Florian Greenheart. He is the current husband of Rose and the Overlord's step-father. He is first seen criticising his brother Borius for his poor governing of Nordberg and his inability to put an end to the barbaric Overlord's siege on the small town. He is again seen later in the Imperial Palace, when he and a few Sentinels capture the Overlord in the Magic Containment Room and take him to the Empire Arena. He announces the arena games and is later forced to leave with Emperor Solarius to the palace. The next time he is seen, he confronts the Overlord at the gates of Empire City, flanked by two Gargantuans. Marius reveals that the Emperor has been looking for the magical energy from the Tower Heart for a while and had thought it to be lost. He claims that the Emperor is using the magical energy to become a god and that he will be waiting for him. Marius then leaves the Overlord to deal with the Gargantuans and teleports back to Empire City, where he meets the Overlord once again, and forces the Empire Citizens to drink from a shrine, turning them into Magic Zombies that fight the Overlord. In the Imperial Palace, he is yet again encountered when Solarius is revealed to be Florian and is then seen several times in the final battle with the Devourer. Marius meets his end when he is eaten by the Devourer as he was asking for his reward for helping it, then Florian pukes his monocle up. Marius seems to speak with an over-exaggerated highbrow accent, likes the sound of his own voice and seems very full of himself and confident the Emperor can not be beaten. He also kisses up to the Emperor a lot throughout the game. Seeing as he is spokesperson for Solarius, Marius speaks to the Overlord on behalf of the Emperor a lot throughout the game and is possibly the enemy that engages in the most dialogue with the Overlord in the game. He, also like his brother Borius, wears rare decorations, like a ruby-encrusted belt, ruby-encrusted bracelets and even a ruby-encrusted book. He wears also a white, leather-made mantle. Governor Borius is the brother of Marius and was the Imperial governor of Nordberg. Borius first conquered Nordberg when the Fourth Overlord was a child. He and a Centurion led a large force of Imperial Troops to the town gates and demanded that Nordberg hand over any of its magic users. Borius is convinced The Emperor purposely made him governor of Nordberg because he liked him better than his brother, Marius. He also believes that Marius knew the emperor favoured him and he so persuaded Solarius to send Borius to Nordberg. The governor is seen several times in and around Nordberg Town. He is seen in the Nordberg Sanctuary when his soldiers recover a spell stone and impatiently awaits a hot bath and a bowl of quail's eyeballs. Borius is found again commanding the Ballista and later when he discovers that the "Witch-boy" is back in Nordberg. The Overlord later blows the gates of the town down and finds Borius, who runs away to the town hall. He is seen arguing with his brother in front of the town hall of Nordberg and it is here that he is squashed by his own statue thanks to the Overlord and his Minions, who push it onto the pompous governor. The Overlord later can either enslave the tub of lard or kill him. When he is enslaved (unlike the other enslaved people), he does not do anything: he just lies on the ground (implying that he has become physically immobile). Later, when the Overlord is thrown into the Arena, Marius will comment on either the Overlord killing or enslaving Borius depending on the players actions. Borius is an ambitious, greedy and ruthless man, who cares little for Nordberg, seeing it as a backwater hovel. He is very overweight (unlike his brother Marius, who is slim) and is one of many characters who call the Overlord "Witch-Boy". He is also very fond of bathing and gorges on strange meals, such as a quail's eyeballs and stuffed widgeon, to which the Nordberg citizens are astonished, as they do not know what a widgeon is. He also wears an assortment of rare and valuable decorations, like a ruby-encrusted collar, a ruby-encrusted belt, ruby-encrusted bracelets and even a ruby-made wine bottle. He wears also a leather, pristine-white mantle. Also, there is a rumour in Everlight Town, that Governor Borius was eaten by the local savages. The Everlight Governess is an agent for the Glorious Empire, who has taken control of Everlight and turned it into a resort for the wealthy citizens of the Empire, when they get tired of city life. She is also seen in the guarded empire building in Everlight, where she decides that Juno is a magical creature. Later, she is seen in Everlight town in front of the Temple. She is holding Juno captive and says she is destined for the Empire Arena. When all of her guards are dead, she says she was only protecting the interests of her guests and is then killed by the Overlord (or alternatively, enslaved). She is also quite similar to a female Empire Citizen and the second form of Senator Drearius' wife. Senator Drearius lives in the Empire Heartland with his wife. It is revealed that his wife accused Juno of sleeping with him. She also accused Juno of stealing her beads. He and his wife are encountered after their villa is destroyed by the Overlord. They can then be killed or enslaved. Afterwards, the Fourth Overlord steals their sedan chair to sneak into Empire City. Military The Glorious Empire has a powerful army, made of several types of troops: The Empire General is encountered on Battle Rock after the Overlord has saved Juno. He claims he and Juno were going to have a relationship, and looks like an gargantuan except for the different armour. His face is similar to that of a centurion. A Centurion is a commander of a legion of Soldiers for the Glorious Empire. In battle, they wield a sword and a shield. The centurion will usually take a position elevated above his troops to give orders to them. Soldiers in formation are much less likely to panic and break formation when a centurion is nearby. If possible, it is best to take out the centurion before attacking the formation, since a strong soldier formation can be tough to break. Empire Archer'''s are equipped with bows and often use flaming arrows to defeat their enemies. They can be quite dangerous, when inaccessible to the minions, but otherwise they are pushovers. They have much less health than soldiers of the same level, and never appear in formation. Some archers, later in the game, shoot flaming arrows, which will catch you on fire if you get hit. They will not do much damage to your Red Minions, but all other minion type and the Overlord will take significant fire damage when hit. At the end of the game, there are some highly armoured archers that have crossbows. They have a much higher defense than the earlier archers, but they still have much less health than the highly armoured soldiers. The '''Legionaries are powerful Imperial soldiers, who wield crossbows against you. They are normally found in groups of up to four or five at a time. They can significantly damage the Overlord, so it is wise to take them out as quickly as possible. Using reds has been proven effective. Another way to deal with them is to lock onto them and unleash a small but quick burst of Magic, which will stun them and bring them to the ground. This will give you a chance to perform the killing blow on the legionary. The Soldiers form the backbone of the Imperial army, and are commanded by centurions. They are equipped with swords and shields, and are mostly encountered in formation. When in formation the soldiers within it receive a defense bonus and soldiers cannot be individually targeted. In order to break a formation the group's morale must be lowered, which will result in the soldiers becoming scattered, allowing the player to individually target them. There are several ways to lower a formation's morale, the most practical way it to kill their centurion, but this may not always work since morale is also based on the size of the formation and perhaps their "rank", not to mention you cannot always reach the centurion. Another way is to simply kill enough soldiers. Or you could simply use your Browns mounted on wolves and charge into the formation, this certainly does not help their morale. Empire Soldiers come in three different colours: *'Green' — The weakest of the troops. Normally found in small formations. These formations are very easy to defeat, a few Reds on a Guard Marker can dispatch an entire formation easily. *'Blue' — Only tough, if encountered in a large formation. The formations are tough due to their numbers and their shields make them immune to fire. In many cases, you can use a path to get your minions behind them. Flanking them like this tends to lower their morale faster than a direct assault and will save you quite a few minions. *'Black' — The toughest type. Can be found in small groups or formations. Other than a head on assault, there does not seem to be any weakness in these formations. The Empire Bomber'''s throw bombs at enemies from a distance, use a flamethrower and are very fast at running. They are quite dangerous when inaccessible to the Minions. To defeat bombers quickly and efficiently, simply use Magic on them, and they will explode. Should that not be possible, Mounted Reds (mobile flame throwers), will also work well. '''Eradicator Agents are large, muscular Humans, who use a machine to suck up any creatures of magic ability. If the creatures get in the way of a blue beam emitting from the device, they will be sucked into it. They wear gladiator-like armor and are frequently found patrolling the walls of the Everlight Facility and other Empire buildings of importance, like the Empire Arena Dungeons and The Empire Sewers. They are never heard speaking in the game, and only make grunting noises. Eradicators can be difficult to deal with, but if possible, stealth is always the best approach. Try to use Greens to sneak up behind them, and if that fails, you can get your Overlord in battle to avoid losing too many Minions. You can fool them, freeing many gnomes from the cells. They will run to the agents and the agents will run to suck them. Then if they stop, quickly send the Greens onto them. Gargantuans are large, muscular human-like creatures created in experiments by the Glorious Empire (even though the Empire Soldiers are told that they are from a 100% natural breeding program).They can not see well and will randomly charge in the general direction of the Overlord or his minions. This can be used to remove obstacles in the Overlord's path. They are hailed by Marius as champions of the arena and wield large swords in battle. Gargantuans' charge do not do much damage, but their sword-swings can be lethal. It is best to trick the Gargantuan into charging into a wall or other obstacle and attack them while they are stunned. If you have The Apocalyptor mace, you can take on a Gargantuan without any help from your minions, and on the power swing, it will usually knock them down to the ground, giving you a chance to attack them. Sentinel'''s are hooded humans, who work for the Glorious Empire and use special staves to detect magic. They are often found atop guard towers or other high points, and they never come in direct "contact" with the player. They use their staves to detect if a creature is magical or not. If it is, then it is sucked up into the machine of Eradicator Agents. These foes are easy to defeat, they have no defense against being knocked down from their tower. In the end of Overlord II, they are seen with Rose. '''Technology The Anti-Magic Shield surrounds the Imperial Palace, and a large portion of the Empire City. It covers all the city except for the Empire Arena and the Empire Slums. It appears as a blue force field-like barrier. When the Overlord enters the city, Emperor Solarius is behind the shield. It basically prevents the use of any magic within the its perimeter, and is powered by the large vat of magic in the Magic Containment Room. It also appears to harm magical beings, since after the sentinels activate it, it greatly injures the Overlord and he is made helpless, ready to be thrown into the Empire Arena. Catapults '''are handy for destroying buildings, guard towers, gates, siege towers, and wiping out a whole Legion of troops from afar. '''Ballistas, basically oversized crossbows, are handy for short distance attacks on Legionnaires. Boats are naval vessels used by the Glorious Empire to transport their troops around the World. They arm unarmed, but may have a battering ram on the front to ram ships and other objects with. Category:Enemy Faction Category:Government Category:Enemy Government